Drifting-valve device for locomotives.



R. IVI. LICKLEY.

DRIFTING VALVE DEVICE FOR LOCOMOTIVES.

APPLICATION man FEB.11.19I\6. nENEwED FEB. 2a. 1911.

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H. Nl. LICKLEAY.

DFHFTINGl VALVE DEVICE FOR LOCOMOTVES.

APPucATloN FILED Hs. 11, 1916 RENEWED FEB.23.1911.

L .Patent-ed Apr. 29,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

RALPH M. LIGKLEY, 0F EAST CLEVELAND, OHIO.

VDRIFTINCt-V'ALVE DEVICE FOR LOCOIVIOTIVES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patentgd App, 29, 1119119,

Application filed February 17, 1916, Serial No. 78,872. Renewed February 23, 1917. Serial No. 150,622.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, RALPH M. LICKLEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of East Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a new and Improved Drifting-Valve Device for Locomotives, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. l

The obj ect of the invention is to provide a simple and efficient means of supplying a sufficient amount of saturated steam from the boiler of the locomotive, ind'ependent of the regular throttle and connections to the steam chests when the said throttle is closed and the locomotive is moving either by its momentum or down grade to overcome the vacuum in the cylinder and steam chests caused by the reciprocating movement of the cylinder pistons and steam chest valves and thus prevent the ingress of air and smoke box iuids and solids, which destroy the lubrication in the cylinders and steam chests.

ln order to accomplish the desired result use is made of a drifting valve connected With the steam chests and with the boiler to supply saturated steam to the steam chests, the valve being provided with an automatic shut-off to close the valve automatically when the steam in the steam chests reaches a predetermined' pressure. Use is also made of a control valve under the control of the engineer and connected with the drifting valve to render the drifting valve wholly inoperative thus preventing accidental admission of the steam into the steam chests by way of the drifting valve.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the drifting valve device as applied to a locomotive shown in dotted lilies;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional side elevation of the drifting valve with parts shown in elevation;

Fig. -t is a vertical transverse section through a portionV of the drifting valve at one side of its center.

Fig. 5 is a sectional plan view of a part of the same; and

Fig. 6 is a plan View of thedrifting valve with a portion of the cap removed.

Since the superheater for locomotives has been perfected so that the steam is superheated to a high degree before it is admitted into the steam chests and cylinders, it has been concluded that by the use of superheated steam, the walls and surfaces of the steam chests and cylinders become heated to such a degree that if air containing oxygen is admitted into the steam chests and cylinders, the lubricating oil on said walls and` surfaces will be carbonized or burned and thus the lubrication destroyed and the surfaces which slide on each other are left dry and very rapidly wear themselves away. Besides the destruction of the lubrication by the admission of air, there are other substances which must be .kept out of the steam chests and' cylinders. These are the hot gases and solids from the smoke-box. Unless there is sufficient pressure in the steam chests to be admitted into the cylinders, there is danger that as the pistons move in the cylinders a vacuum (pressure below the pressure in the smoke-box) will be formed whereby When the steam chest valves open the communication to the exhaust, there will be an iniioW of smoke-box fluids and solids into the steam chests and cylinders. VThis would obviously assist in the rapid d'estruction of all the wearing parts in connection With the steam chests and cylinders, which include steam chest valve stems and packing, valves and bushings, cylinder pistons and bushings, piston rods and packing.

A t present, it is the practice on some railroads, with locomotives not equipped with special devices for drifting purposes, to have the engine-man open the steam throttle slightly and furnish the cylinders f with steam through the same course when the engine is drifting as when the engine is Working. This method has the disadvantage of necessitating the use of superheated steam which is not as lubricative as saturated steam and also the human element of not being able to admit the exact amount of steam required to produce the desired economical results. If too much steam is furnished, there Will be a waste of steam and an excess draft on the fire which will consume coal unnecessarily, and' if not enough steam is furnished, the troubles, as stated above, Will not be overcome. By the improved drifting valve device presently to be described in detail the above-mentioned ob j ections are overcome.

The locomotive illustrated in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2 and on which the drifting valve device is shown applied is provided with the usual boiler 10, smoke-box 11, throttle valve 12 controlled by the lever 13 within reach of the engineer in the cab of` When the throttle valve 12 boiler 10 and within which steam dome is.

located the throttle valve 12 before inentioned. on opposite sides` with steam delivery pipes 23 connected with T-ittings 24 attached to the steam chests 17 to supply the latter with saturated` steam, as hereinafter in'ore fully explained. It will be noticedy that by the arrangement described, a steam passage is.

provided for the steam chests 17 wholly independent of the steam passage for op-4 erating the pistons in the cylinders 18, in` the usual manner.

lVithin the cab of the locomotive is ar.-

ranged the usual turret 25 for supplying.

steam to operate the accessories of the locomotive, and this turret 25 is. connected by a pipe 26 with the drifting valve 19, and

this pipe 26 is provided with ay three-way valve 27 for controlling the drifting valve 19 the normal position of which sustains the drifting valve in operative condition. When this valve is closed andpipe 26 there-` by cut off the drifting valve is rendered wholly inoperative. The valve 27 is prof vided with an outlet 28 `connecting the drifts ing valve19- with the outlet 28 to relieve the drifting valve of steam pressure, as` hereinafter more fully explained. intermediate the valve 27 and the turret 25 is provided with a shut-off valve 29 forcompletely disconnecting the pipe 26' from` the turret 25 when the engine is laid up for any length of time in cold weather on forother reasons.

The drifting valve 19 is: constructed in4 detail as follows, special reference being.-

had to Figs. 3, 4, 5 and: The valve body 30 of tlie drifting valve 19l is provided'witli a base 31 and a cap 32 the body and base being fastened together by bolts. 33, andjthe body and cap being fastened togetherV by.y bolts 34. The base 31 is providedwith ay flange 35 seated on a ring 3,6 seated? on the boiler shell 39. The flange 35 is fastened to the boiler shell 39 by stud bolts 37 to securely liold the drifting valve in position The drifting valve 19 is provided.

The pipe 26 0n the boiler shell. The steam supply pipe 21 previously mentioned screws in the ring 36y andi delivers steamV into a chamber 40 formed in the base 31. This chamber 40 is connected by a vpassage 41 with the cap 32, the passage extending through the base 31 and the body 30, as plainly indicated in Fig. 4. Within the cap 32 is. centrally arranged a valve 42 adapted to be seated on a valve seat 43 interposed between the body 30 and the cap32andheld in place by the bolts 34. The top ofthe valve 42 is pressed on by one. end ofv a, coil spring 44 abutting withfits4 other end against` the cap 32 to normally hold the valve 42 to its seat 43. The valve 42 is provided at its under side with a central polygonalY recess. 45 intowhich proj ectsthe correspondingly shaped upper end 4G of a bolt` 47 having a collar 481 abutting against the: under side of a threaded boss; 50 forming an integral part` ofthe valve 42 attheunder side thereof. On the boss 50.serews a couplingV 5 1 having an inwardly extendingl flangeA 52V engaging the under side of thecollar 48. The bolt 47 is engaged by a.hub.5,3 ofiapiston. 54 mounted to reciprocate in. a,cylinder 55 formed centrally in the valve .body- 30, and the said hub 53 extends through a reduced bearing 5G into a` cylinder. 57 formedI in the base 31 and containing a` piston 58 fastened to the hub 53 by a nut 59 screwing on the lower end of the-bolt 47 .Y By the, arrangement described, `the valve-42 and thepistons54 and 58 are connected witheachothento move in unison. By` reference to Fig. 3, it will be seen that the steam deliveryv pipes 23 lead from` the valvebody 3.0 at a point intermediatethe valve: seat 43- andthe upper end ofthe cylinder 55 so .tliatwhenthe valve 42 is opensteam can pass byl way. of the-passage 41, cap.32 andvalveseat 43 into theL chamber 60"` connected with theV upper end of the-cylinder 55, and from which lead the delivery pipes 2 3. Thebottomfvoff the cylinder 55 is providedwith.` alport 61 opening to the atmosphere.so .that they under side of the piston 54 is exposed to.` atmospheric. pressure.

. rllhe pipel26j previously mentioned opens into the lower end of the. cylinder- 57 so that whenthe engineer. opens-theivalve 27 steam under boiler; pressure .passes into the cylin-v valve 42, so that upon accumulation of pressure thro-ugh pipe 26 below the piston 58, the pressure above the valve 42 and also the pressure of the spring 44 will be overcome. The piston 54 serves as' a balancing piston while the piston 58 serves as an opening and closing piston for t-he valve 42. It is understood that owing to the fact that the piston 58 has an exposed lower face slightly larger than the valve 42 the extra pressure due to the larger area causes an upward movement of the entire piston valve to lift the valve 42 off its seat 48, as previously explained. When the valve 27 is closed and steam is shut off from the cylinder 57 then the piston valve returns to its normal position aided by fthe action of the spring 44. Itis thus obvious,

that, in operation, the pressure in the chamber 60 acts on equal surfaces on the underside of valve 42 and the upper side of piston 54, and will, therefore, have no effect or influence in the opening or closing of valve 42. Then, as boiler pressure is exerted on the top 0f valve 42 and against the lower face of piston 58, valve 42 will be forced open, because, as before stated, the exposed face of piston 58 is slightly larger than that of valve 42. The valve can only be closed by a pressure on the top side of piston 58 through pipes 70, and when this pressure is reduced, the extra. force against the lower face of piston 58 as compared to that on the top side of valve 42, including spring 44, will cause an upward opening movement of valve 42, even against some pressure on the top 'side of the piston 58. Thus the valve 42 will be opened while there is yet some pressure in the pipe 16 and steam chests 17. Since all of these pressures are gage pressures, that is, above atmospheric, the pressure on the underside of piston 54 will have no effect upon the movement of the parts and need not therefore be further considered.

The upper end of the Cylinder 57 is connected by a small pipe with one of the pipes 16 (see Figs. 2 and 8) so that in case the pressure in the pipe 16 exceeds the pressure to which Vthe valve is set the piston 58 is forced downward to close the valve 42 at the time the valve 27 is open. rl`hus if there is an excess of pressure in the pipe 16 beyond that for which the drifting v-alve has been set then the valve 42 closes automatically and remains closed until the pressure in the pipe 16 falls below the predetermined pressure to which the drifting valve has been set. It is understood that by this arrangement soot or other extraneous matter 'in the smoke-box 11 cannot be sucked into the engine cylinders as the ressure in the latter is always slightly hig er than'rthat in the smoke-box 11. It is also understood that the spring 44 holds the valve 42 to its seat when the pressure is shut off so that the locomotive can be readily started up after having been laid up, without danger of steam leaking past the valve seat 48 in case the valve 42 should be open. It is further understood that the predetermined pressure to which the valve 19 is set is not sufficient to start the locomotive on a level track.

In order to allow a mechanic to regrind the valve 42 in its seat 48, said valve is provided on top with a centrally located polygonal boss adapted to be engaged by a 75 correspondingly shaped socket 81 formed in the lower end of a spindle 82 extending through a stufling box 83 arranged on top of the cap 82. The outer end 84 of the spindle 82 is made polygonal for the application of a wrench or other suitable tool with which to move the spindle 82 downward to engage the socket 81 with the boss 80 and to allow of turning the spindle so as to rotate the valve 42 on its seat 43 thus grinding the valve in its seat. After the grinding operation is repeated the spindle 82 is returned to its upper normal position, as shown in Fig. 3, to allow free opening of the valve 42 as previously explained.

In order to supply a lubricant to the steam chests 17 the following arrangement is made: In the cab of the locomotive is arranged the lusual lubricator 90 connected to the turret by a steam supply pipe 91 having a valve 95 92. From the lubricator 90 lead pipes 98 connected by chokes 94 with the T-ittings 24 to supply lubricant to the steam chests 17.

t will be noticed that by this arrangement the oil feed is entirely independent of the drifting valve and therefore does not influence the latters action.

F rom the foregoing it will be seen that thc controlling valve 27 is within convenient reach of the engineer and hence enables the latter to control the drifting valve system.

By locating the drifting valve 19 on the top of the boiler, all pipes connected therewith readily drain off all water of condensation and hence such pipes are not liable to burst owing to freezing of the water during cold weather. It will also be noticed that the pressure for closing the valve 42 is from the top thereof and the steam has a chance to expand before acting on the valve to close it and hence the valve is not liable to fiutter.

In the arrangement described, the control pipe is connected to obtain Vthe pressure for controlling the opening and closing of the valve after the steam has expanded to steam chest pressure.

The operation of the valve is as follows:

Consider the locomotive standing still, with the throttle valve closed and no steam in the steam chests. The boiler contains steam under pressure and the locomotive is equipped with the drifting valve device. The device being connected with the boiler, the steam exerts a pressure on the top of valve 42, holding it on its seat 43. By means of valve 2.7 and pipe 2 6, connect the lower side of piston 58V with the boiler' pressure. Because piston 58 is slightly. larger than valve Lt2, the latter is raised from its seat'v admitting steam into the steam chests 17 through pipes 23. It mustl herebe noted that the pressure in the chamber 60 has buti'little effect in causing any movement ofl the pistonsY 5i and 58 and valve 42,.because pistonl 5-1 balancesthe pressure on the under side of valve 42. The steam which is admitted into the steam chests enters steam pipe 16 and thence into pipe which connects determined in the design of pistons 54, and 58` and valve 42, to force valve 42 back down on its seat 43 vand thus shut oit the admission of any more steam into the steam` Thus the valve is a pressure-reducing valve, as the pressure in the steam chests is keptreducedy chests to increasethe pressure.

to the predetermined amount. If steam is allowed to escape or is used from the steam chests thus lowering the pressure in the steam chests, the pressure on the top of pistonf58 is correspondingly lowered and the boiler pressure acting on the bottom of' piston 5S will be again permitted to lift valve 42 from its seat 43 admitting steam to the steam chests to replace the steam that Was drawn away, but the connection to the top of piston 58 will not permit of the pressure` being increased above the predetermined amount.

Having thus described my invention, I clailn as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. A drifting valve device for locomotives, comprising a pressure reducingvalvehaving a connection with the steam chests ofthe locomotive and having a connection With the steam compartment ofthe boiler to `admit saturated steam under reduced pressure to the said steam chests, the said pressure reducing valve'having means to close it automatically when the steam in the steam chests reaohesa predetermined pressure, a controllingvalve under `the control of the engineer and connected with the boiler and with thesaid pressure reducing valve at the high pressure side thereof to render the.- same operative and inoperative, the controlling-valve having an outlet for relieving the drifting valve of steam pressure.

2. A drifting valve device for locomotives, comprising a pressure reducing valve having avalve body furnished with an inlet and an outlet connected to the locomotive cylinder and a valve seat intermediate the said outlet and inlet, a spring pressed valve controlling the said valve seat and having Leonesa;

twol pistons of which; one is exposed at its` under face to. the atmosphere and at; its upper faceA to. the:V pressure of; the; steam in, the outlet, a manually controlled valvecon.- nectedl withv the, locomotive boiler to admit 7 0. steam toA the-v underside. ofthe other piston, and i a: connection; whereby pressure from the cylinder supply is; admitted4 thereto, Y leading into the valve body above .thesaid lastzmen-i tioned piston.

3. A drifting valve device for locomotives, comprising a pressurey reducing valve havinggalva-lve body furnishedwvithan inlet, anv outlet: and a valve; seat"` intermediate the said-1 inlet, and'outlet, xa springl pressed valve, 80 controlling the said valve,` seat and havingytivo; pistons of which one is exposed` at its under face tothefatmosphere; and at` its upper face.. to,` the pressure4 of;` thesteam inthe; outlet, a: manually controlled valve S5 i connectedy With the locomotive boilerz'to ad-A mit: steam -to the underside of: the. otherl pis.- ton,` and a. steam; connecticut betweenv the, steam lchest of the` engine fand the, upper' side of theI said second piston.V

4.. A, drifting.; valve. device;A for locomo-V tives,4 comprising" a, pressure; re ducing; valve having aninlet, an outlet, and a. valve'seat. intermediate the; said inletA and outlet, a spri-ngpressed'. valve cooperating with thei95 said seat' and havingvv a piston connected therewith and exposed uponione side to the.- pressure of the locomotive steam chest, a second `piston .connected vto the valve and exposed to the'pressure ofy steamin the outlet, 1.00:

a connectionbetweenthe said inlet and the steam .compartment of `the `locomotive boiler, a connection `between thefsaidfoutlet-.aaid the steam ychest 4of.` theelocomotive. engine, and a manually controlledl valve connected' with 10a the locomotiveI boiler and1 the` said valve body to admit, boilerrpressure tothe other face of the` first'piston.

5. A driftingvalveV device for locomotives, comprisinga pressure reducingrvalve- 110.v

having anev inlet, .an outlet andia-valve'seaty intermediate. thefsaid inlet and' outlet', .and a spring pressed' valve controlling' the said. scatto connect'theinletWithfthe said outlet,

the said-valve having-,tvvospacedpistons of 1155 which the upper face of*I one piston isY eX- posed to `the steaml pressure-in the outlet4 and its-under face exposedto the atmosphere, a manually controlled valve connectedA With the boiler and the `said valvebody for ad- 1.20;

mittingvboiler;` pressure'to theA underside of the other piston, and a connection between the steam chest andthe said valve" body to admit steam chestpressure to the upper side of the said other piston.

6. A drifting valve device fory locomotives, comprising'a pressure reducing valvev havin" a saturated steam supply connection with the steam chests ofthe locomotive-andhaving a connection with the steamcom- A partment of the boiler to admit saturated steam under reduced pressure to the said steam chests, the said pressure reducing valve having means to close it automatically when the steam in the steam chest reaches a predetermined pressure, a controlling valve under the control of the engineer and connected with the boiler and with the said pressure reducing valve at the high pressure side thereof to render the same operative and inoperative, and a connection between the reducing valve and the steam chests to Which the valve is subject When said controlling valve is closed.

7. A drifting valve device for locomotives, comprising a pressure reducing valve having a valve body provided With a base and a cap, a passage connecting the base With the cap, a valve seat intermediate the cap and the top of the valve body, a steam supply pipe connected with the steam compartment of the boiler and with the said base, and the passage leading therefrom to the cap, a steam delivery pipe connecting the said valve body with the steam chest of the locomotive engine, a cylinder inthe said valve body and connected at its underside With the atmosphere and at its upper end With the said valve seat and the said delivery pipe, a cylinder in the said base, a spring pressed valve in the said cap and adapted to be seated on the said seat, a double piston connected with the said valve, one of the pistons being a balancing piston and extending in the said body cylinder and the other being an opening and closing piston extending in the said base cylinder, a steam pipe connected with the underside of the said base cylinder and connected with the boiler, a three Way valve in the said steam pipe and under the control of the engineer to connect the said steam pipe With the said base cylinder or the latter with the atmosphere, and a pipe connecting the upper end of the said base cylinder With the steam chest.

1n testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

RALPH M. LICKLE Y.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

